Pipeline opponents win battle, but not the war

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that a DEP decision is going to stop Sunoco’s Mariner 2 East pipeline.

The legions of critics of the Mariner East 2 pipeline won a major battle Wednesday. But will they win the war? For Sunoco Pipeline Ltd, the offshoot of the iconic oil giant, this is the equivalent of getting your knuckles rapped.

For more than a year now critics of the massive, $2.5 billion project that will ferry ethane, butane and propane across the full width of Pennsylvania, from the Marcellus Shale regions to the former Sunoco refinery in Marcus Hook, have complained.

They have complained to their local officials. As it turns out, it was a little too late for that. Many school districts and municipalities had already sold easements to Sunoco and construction had begun when the protests began to pick up speed.

They have complained to their elected state officials.

They have complained to state agencies and even Gov. Tom Wolf. They actually got a sit-down with the governor, urging him to shut down the project until a new safety study on the pipeline plan could be done.

Some homeowners and municipalities went to court in attempts to stop the plan. Not much has worked. Despite being behind schedule, much of the pipeline is already in place, traversing about 11 miles across Delaware County and another 25 across Chester County.

The problems - and citizen concerns - have not gone away.

The pipeline incurred several incidents with spills, runoffs and problems with private water wells.

Finally, the state apparently had heard enough.

Wednesday the state Department of Environmental Protection halted all construction on Mariner East 2 across the state until Sunoco Pipeline Ltd., which is building the pipeline, can fix the problems that have plagued the project and sparked all those complaints from citizens and lawmakers.

DEP specifically blasted Sunoco for what it called “repeated violations” of the permitting process and failing to notify the agency of discharges of drilling fluid. It also nailed Sunoco, now part of Texasbased Energy Transfer Partners, for unauthorized drilling. This stems from work performed near Harrisburg, where the company decided to use a controversial process known as horizontal directional drilling even though it was not permitted for that type of work. The company insists it was the environmentally preferred way to go about the work. DEP obviously did not agree.

“Until Sunoco can demonstrate that the permit conditions can and will be followed, DEP has no alternative but to suspend the permits,” said DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell. “We are living up to our promise to hold this project accountable to the strong protections in the permits.”

Gov. Wolf, who has been under siege by opponents of the project, and who is facing a difficult re-election campaign, sounded a similar note.

“Governor Wolf has made clear from the onset that he expects DEP to hold all permittees accountable to the conditions and requirements of Pennsylvania law which are implemented in all permits that are issued,” a statement from his office said. “DEP today is doing just that. This suspension will remain in place until the operator demonstrates compliance with the administrative order that DEP issued.”

Wednesday’s announcement sparked a tsunami of hosannas from local elected representatives, citizen and environmental groups.

But don’t make the mistake of thinking this is going to stop Mariner East 2. Or the concerns about the wisdom of putting this project in densely populated areas.

Both Sen. Andy Dinniman, D-19 of West Whiteland, one of the region’s fiercest pipeline critics, and the citizen group Del-Chesco United for Pipeline Safety, tempered their enthusiasm for the DEP ruling with their ongoing concerns about the safety of the plan. DelChesco went so far as to call it a ‘token bow to pressure’ from Gov. Wolf.

No doubt Sunoco will ready a plan for DEP showing how they plan to adhere to all permitting process and other regulations. They have consistently rejected claims that the project is not safe, or endangers the local water supply. They insist it is being constructed to the highest standards of the industry. They reassure that they have residents’ safety at heart. Bottom line? The critics of Mariner East 2 have won a battle.

It remains to be seen if they will win the war.